The Wired Weigh-in for April12, 2007

If cancelled concerts, scary puppets, scary legislators and a town full of lawyers all combine to bum you out, perhaps you can head up to San Marcos and watch bodies decompose. Normally, rotting corpses wouldn’t be fodder for a morning blog, but it’s Thursday and we’re all limping through the week at this point, right?

Some towns have all the luck…bad luck, that is.

Bad weather in Florida caused Rod Stewart to cancel his show here next Tuesday. It makes no sense, but neither does the continued career of Mr. Stewart, who peaked in the 80s but remains incredibly popular to this day. I had hoped to get an answer, once and for all, about those “Rod Stewart-ER stomach pump” rumors I’ve been hearing since I was a kid.

Museum or political debate: you make the call

The grand opening of the Museo Alameda del Smithsonian in Market Square, an official affiliate of the Smithsonian, begins Friday. The museum will celebrate the intersection of American and Latino cultures. Part of that involves life-sized puppets on parade, hence the Anchor Desk’s confusion about whether it’s an arts event, or whether politicians will be there for the opening ceremonies.

House still intent on pre-marriage bill

A bizarre piece of legislation that attempts to force couples into pre-marriage counseling careened toward final approval in Texas House, a metaphor for how bad marriages careen toward divorce when bad ideas are forced onto unwilling participants. Couples can forgo the counseling by paying $100. This whole bill is a bad, bad idea.

Brace yourselves for argumentative tourists

The American Bar Association is holding a conference here through Saturday, focusing on legal precedents and cases in Texas, such as the Enron case and new electronic discovery rules drafted in the state. There will be so many attorneys here, you can almost feel the town bogging down into rhetorical gridlock.

Composition and decomposition

College students write papers to pass classes. A planned anthropological facility at Texas State will let them watch bodies rot. Residents are concerned about health issues and the smell, but school officials say their concerns have been met and that the facility, the third in country, will provide valuable research for students and law enforcement. On a semi-related note, keep reading At Large and let your mind rot.

UTSA: Immigration speech turns into demonstration

An outdoor speech by Chris Simcox, recognized buffoon and self-appointed border protector, started out bad and got worse. Minutes after the founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps began spouting his gibberish, angry crowds among the student body, which is 45 percent Hispanic, tried to bum rush the stage. Cops were called. Several hundred were involved, but none were hurt.

TYC reform bill winding its way through Legislature

A Senate committee approved legislation that would fundamentally alter the state’s juvenile justice system. Under the bill, kids with misdemeanors wouldn’t go into the statewide system; schools would be relocated close to major metropolitan areas; officers would get better training; and there would be oversight to prevent a repeat of the sexual abuse scandal that set off the reboot of the system. I hate to write these words, but if this bill passes, the Legislature will have accomplished something good for a change.

I go out every afternoon looking for trouble. If you know where I can find trouble, or if you want to cause trouble for me, could you trouble yourself to post a comment or contact me?

Email me here, or cut-and-paste this: rbragg@express-news.net into an email.